Credit: Imago

Scott Mason

Wed 11 March 2026 7:10, UK

Pedro Porro comes away from Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid as the only player who can truly say they gave their all.

It was a tough night in Madrid for the Lilywhites and Igor Tudor, as they made their chance of qualifying quite slim just 22 minutes into the game.

Spurs conceded four goals, with many of them coming from the N17 side’s own mistakes.

While it may have been easy for any player to give up, Porro certainly did not look to do so. His performance was one of the only acceptable ones on the night, and stats show why in Tottenham’s loss.

Tottenham can thank Pedro Porro for slim chance in the Champions League

If Tottenham are to qualify for the next round of the Champions League, they will have to thank Porro for providing them that opportunity.

At 5-2, Spurs have it all to do, but Porro popped up with both a goal and an assist to keep them just about in the tie.

Throughout the match, the Spaniard created two big chances, won 50 per cent of his ground duels and made five recoveries to go along with his goal contributions, as per Sofascore.

Additionally, those two big chances created made up 66 per cent of the total that Tudor’s side created in Madrid.

Porro, who was abysmal against Crystal Palace, will be delighted on a personal note that he was able to bounce back.

Turning around a three-goal deficit is not unheard of, and Spurs fans may look to their 2018-2019 run as inspiration for pulling off a comeback.

However, with this Tottenham team, fans will have little faith they can do so but without mistakes, there may be some positives to bring into the second leg.

Tottenham may have got a strong result without individual errors against Atletico Madrid

In truth, Tottenham’s performance was a prime example of the team fans have come to know this season. Spurs are quickly becoming the architects of their own downfall.

If you exclude the expected goals from the opening three goals from Atletico Madrid, then Tottenham and the Spanish club created an identical amount of chances.

Those three aforementioned mistakes equated to 1.7 xG. Without them, Diego Simeone’s side had 1.42 xG compared to Spurs’ 1.41 xG.

If there was a stronger mentality within the squad, then the Lilywhites certainly could have come away from the Riyadh Air Metropolitano with a good result.